Strange Denbong

For ordinary disciples of Dao Sword Sect, the monthly allowance was one hundred low-grade spirit stones, ten Returning Primal Pills, and one Spirit Gathering Pill. For inner sect disciples, it was three hundred low-grade spirit stones, twenty Returning Primal Pills, and two Spirit Gathering Pills. For personally taught disciples, it was five hundred low-grade spirit stones, fifty Returning Primal Pills, and ten Spirit Gathering Pills.

The spirit stones came from Dao Sword Sect's own spiritual veins, while the pills had two sources...

Most of the pills were purchased from Zhican Valley, and a small portion was provided by Dan Peak. The ones from Dan Peak were refined by Qin Ran.

The monthly allowance was distributed at the beginning of each month, while the preparation for the distribution was done in the middle of the previous month.

That is to say, on the fifteenth of every month, Butler Hall would send someone to Qin Ran for the pills needed for next month.

Jian Yuanjie, the chief butler of Butler Hall, was in charge of pill-related matters within the sect. He was usually the one to receive the pills from Qin Ran.

Today, he climbed up Dan Peak, walked through the secluded ancient forest path, and arrived at the grassland Qin Ran had opened up.

He was already very familiar with Dan Peak, and had witnessed Qin Ran's transformations of Dan Peak bit by bit. However, looking in now, he realized Dan Peak looked a little different again.

For example, why was there suddenly a huge pit in the middle of the painstakingly cleared grassland? How unsightly, what was the meaning of this?

Jian Yuanjie was puzzled. He walked over and saw a muddy figure digging at the bottom of the pit. He asked, "What are you doing?"

The muddy figure in the pit looked up, revealing a pair of particularly bright eyes. She glanced at him and replied, "Digging a lake."

Digging a lake? Jian Yuanjie did not quite understand.

It was a girl's voice, not Qin Ran's. He asked again, "Where's Master Qin?"

The girl pointed to the building called the Research Tower and said nothing.

"Alright!" Jian Yuanjie nodded. This girl did not speak much, appearing rather aloof.

He did not ask any more questions and walked towards the Research Tower. After taking two steps, he suddenly recalled the rumors that Qin Ran had accepted an extremely talented disciple at the Questioning Dao Convention. That girl in the pit must be her.

He quickly turned back, intending to chat more with the girl and give her a greeting gift, as he believed he had a decent relationship with Qin Ran.

But as soon as he turned back, there was movement from the chair by the mud pit. He looked over to see a white cat with black circular patterns, though on closer look it might not be a cat.

The cat jumped onto the chair, adjusted its position, sat down, looked up and opened its mouth, making a "Awooo... Awooo..." sound.

The scene was somewhat bizarre. Jian Yuanjie scratched his head, confused about what was going on. Just as he was about to call out and ask, the cat rhythmically closed its mouth again and made a "Meow... Awooo... Meow... Awooo..." sound.

"What's this?" Jian Yuanjie felt as if the cat was talking to him, giving him an eerie feeling down his spine.

He no longer wanted to ask questions, and had no intention of giving a greeting gift anymore. He ran straight for the Research Tower...

What on earth happened to Dan Peak in just one month!?

Already familiar with the place, Jian Yuanjie arrived under the Research Tower panting heavily. He tried calling out, "Junior Brother Qin! Junior Brother Qin!" While praying in his heart, please don't let any other weird things happen.

His prayers seemed to work. Qin Ran's figure soon emerged on the second floor and leaned over the balcony railing to yell at him, "Senior Brother Jian."

Seeing Qin Ran, Jian Yuanjie finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Finally found you."

"Is it time to collect pills again?" Qin Ran did not know about Jian Yuanjie's earlier experience and simply said, "I didn't notice. I've been busy with other things these past two days, but I have refined the pills, just haven't packaged them up yet."

Jian Yuanjie leapt from the ground directly onto the second floor, coming to Qin Ran's side. He said, "Forget about the pills for now, first tell me what's going on with that cat?"

"Cat?" Qin Ran's expression changed. He quickly dodged the question and looked elsewhere, saying, "That's not a cat, it's a Primordial Shadow Spirit Tiger."

"Primordial Shadow Spirit Tiger?" Jian Yuanjie recalled the Primordial Shadow Spirit Tiger from a few days ago and asked again, "Primordial Shadow Spirit Tiger? It... it seems to be learning to speak..."

Qin Ran had a complicated expression. He was silent for a long while before sighing, "Do you think I'm hiding here for no reason?!"

After being discovered kneeling before Chasing the Wind calling it "mommy" by his silly disciple a few days ago, Qin Ran felt he had lost all face to meet the elders of the east rivers. He had been hiding in the Research Tower for two days.

"Why?" Seeing Qin Ran's complex expression, Jian Yuanjie felt even more uneasy and pressed on, "Why?"

Qin Ran remained silent and did not answer. After a long while, he finally said, "The pills are not packaged yet. Come with me, we'll package them together."

Although he knew something must have happened, since Qin Ran avoided the topic, Jian Yuanjie did not ask further.

Carrying the storage bag, he followed Qin Ran to the third floor where the pills were kept to package the pills.

Qin Ran was at the Foundation Establishment stage, and was only responsible for three types of pills - Spirit Gathering Pills to improve Foundation Establishment cultivation, Returning Primal Pills for quick recovery of spiritual power, and Fasting Pills for fasting and abstinence. There were three hundred pills of each type.

"Junior Brother, you've been stuck at the late Foundation Establishment stage for many years. Have you recently found a way to form your core?" Jian Yuanjie asked.

Qin Ran shook his head and said, "My talent isn't good enough, it's not surprising that I can't form my core."

"Your talent is good enough, you have a mid-grade water spirit root..." Jian Yuanjie sighed as he inspected the pills, "It seems you still can't get over the shadow cast by Uncle Wang's failure to overcome the tribulation. In fact, there's nothing to fear about the Heavenly Tribulation. With your aptitude, it would be at most three nine-minor-bolts tribulations, very easy to get through."

Hearing Jian Yuanjie's words, and recalling his master's primordial spirit scattering under the lightning tribulation, Qin Ran remained silent and had nothing to say.

The two of them packaged the pills quickly. Before long, they were done. Jian Yuanjie tied the storage bag around his waist and said to Qin Ran,

"I've always said that the pills you refine are better than Zhican Valley's. I'm not flattering you, it's the truth. I sincerely hope you can form your core soon, so that you can refine pills for the Golden Core stage. I really can't stand Zhican Valley's substandard products anymore."

"I'll try my best," Qin Ran nodded in reply.

The two chatted as Qin Ran saw Jian Yuanjie out of the Research Tower and headed outside.

In the grassland, Li Shiyin was still digging the pit, while Chasing the Wind was no longer howling. It was curled up asleep on the chair.

"What's the purpose of digging this pit?" Jian Yuanjie asked.

"To dig an artificial lake," Qin Ran explained. "It's also to let my disciple consolidate her cultivation."

Only then did Jian Yuanjie understand. He said, "But she's a girl..."

Qin Ran remained silent.

The two walked across the grassland. Qin Ran sent Jian Yuanjie all the way to the edge of the forest, watching as he left.

Compared to Huang Feiyu, Jian Yuanjie was more polite and did not arrogantly fly straight to Dan Peak on a cloud.

However, watching Jian Yuanjie's departing figure, Qin Ran's eyes were complicated.

The first rule of the cultivation world was to never trust anyone.

Jian Yuanjie believed he had a good relationship with him, but ultimately it was just mutual benefit... because of the pills.

Jian Yuanjie was not a friend. Qin Ran had never told him that he was exploring the limits of the Foundation Establishment stage - the quality and quantity of spiritual power, the degree of control over spiritual power, the toughness of the physical body...

It wasn't that he couldn't form his core, it was that he didn't want to.